Trump and Harris argue about silencing debate microphones

The Donald Trump and Kamala Harris campaigns are disagreeing on whether to silence a microphone while the other person is speaking in their upcoming debate.

The Harris campaign expressed in a statement to CBS News, the BBC's US partner, their desire for the microphones of both candidates to remain on during the entire broadcast.

The Trump campaign is said to desire the ABC debate on 10 September to follow the rules previously established for the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden. This implies that the microphones are muted.

The visible deadlock arose when the ex-president cast doubt on the fairness of the network and hinted that he could potentially skip the debate.

Politico first broke the news about the impasse in talks between the two campaigns.

Before exiting as the Democratic party nominee, President Joe Biden's campaign agreed to participate in two debates with Trump's campaign - one that happened in June on CNN and one scheduled for September on ABC News.

The Biden campaign discussed the debate rules and agreed that the microphone would be muted when a candidate was not talking.

The Trump campaign agreed to adhere to the rule, which was implemented during the June CNN debate.

However, only 15 days away from the scheduled ABC News debate in Philadelphia, the Harris campaign is requesting for the microphones to be constantly on during the debate.

This would enable the two candidates to talk over each other and interrupt on the debate platform.

Brian Fallon, a senior communications adviser for Kamala Harris's campaign, stated, "The vice president is prepared to address Trump’s frequent lies and interruptions in real time. Trump needs to stop hiding behind the mute button."

Trump, however, told reporters on Monday that he would prefer the microphones remain on during the debate, although he remarked that it "worked out fine" when they were muted during his previous stage appearance with Biden.

"We agreed to the same rules and specifications, and I think that should be the case, but they’re trying to alter them," Trump said. "The reality is they’re trying to back out because she doesn’t want to debate. She’s not a strong debater."

Trump’s campaign, in a statement to Politico, reaffirmed the former president's claim that Harris was seeking to avoid the debate.

“Enough with the games. We accepted the ABC debate under the same terms as the CNN debate,” senior Trump adviser Jason Miller told Politico. “The Harris camp, after agreeing to the CNN rules, requested a seated debate with notes and opening statements. We refused to modify the agreed-upon rules.”

A Harris campaign official, when asked about the Trump campaign’s assertions, called them "100% false," according to CBS News.

On Sunday, Trump took to Truth Social to question whether the ABC News journalists moderating the debate would provide the questions to the Harris campaign in advance.

"Why would I debate Kamala Harris on that network?" he wrote.

This isn’t the first instance of the former president hinting at potentially backing out of a debate. Earlier this month, Trump indicated he would only debate Harris if the event were hosted by Fox News, but he changed his position a few days later.

As the November 5 election approaches, the Harris campaign announced it has raised $540 million since Biden’s withdrawal, according to the Associated Press. This fundraising surge followed Biden’s exit from the race.

In contrast, the Trump campaign reported raising $138.7 million in July and currently holds $327 million in cash.